Voices, The Peoples News
February 4, 2025
Published by Jedi Selman Since March 2000 to Inform and Educate
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This daily Voices, The Peoples News is posted through the blog function of www.MPEN-Ohio.net
# Archaeology
Researchers Fear Mysterious ‘Pyramid’ Discovered in Antarctica May Not Be What It Seems. Decades of enigma around an Antarctic pyramid finally resolved amid steaming speculation by raging conspiracy theorists.
https://www.greenmatters.com/pn/researchers-fear-mysterious-pyramid-discovered-in-antarctica-may-not-be-what-it-seems
# Border / Immigration / Migrants / Gangs
Mexican drug cartels plan attacks on Border Patrol agents with kamikaze drones and other explosives to fight US crackdown
https://www.yahoo.com/news/mexican-cartels-targeting-border-patrol-012236408.html
Border Patrol, Mexican Cartel Exchange Gunfire Amid High Security
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J-os9DUgjc
Trump administration has already released some immigrants back into the US after touting aggressive crackdown
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-administration-already-released-immigrants-161222261.html
‘They used us:’ Trump-backing Venezuelan immigrants now furious at deportations
https://www.newsbreak.com/raw-story-2096750/3790529284083-they-used-us-trump-backing-venezuelan-immigrants-now-furious-at-deportations
Texas Guard can make immigration arrests under new Trump agreement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKyss64sAqw
US Coast Guard stops ocean smuggling operations off San Diego. The most recent case from Mission Bay Beach occurred early Sunday morning when the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted a 25-foot panga-style vessel carrying 16 people about 15 miles off the coast of Mission Bay.
https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/border-coverage/us-coast-guard-stops-ocean-smuggling/
# Business / Industry / Corporations
Amazon’s exit from Quebec is a wake-up call for workers’ rights in the US
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/5119393-amazon-quebec-union-layoffs-impact/
Temu, Shein and Amazon to be held liable by the EU for the dangerous and illegal products they sell, report says
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/amazon-temu-shein-to-be-liable-in-eu-for-unsafe-goods-ft-says-1034302491
Yet Another National Discount Retailer Closing All Stores. Bargain Hunt is expected to have all of their locations in ten states shuttered by next month.
https://710wor.iheart.com/content/2025-02-03-yet-another-national-discount-retailer-closing-all-stores/
Store closures have surged 69% in 2024. Here are the retailers shuttering thousands of stores.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/retailers-closing-stores-surged-2024-family-dollar-cvs-big-lots/
# Covid / Biologicals / Pandemics
Lab leak confirmation ends the era of noble COVID-19 lies
https://www.wowktv.com/news/kentucky/massie-reintroduces-resolution-to-disband-us-department-of-education/
# DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency]
Marjorie Taylor Greene accused NPR and PBS of spreading “Democrat propaganda” and just DEMANDED that their CEOs testify in front of her DOGE subcommittee!
https://www.salon.com/2024/11/24/democrat-propaganda-marjorie-taylor-greene-plans-to-team-up-with-musk-to-defund-npr/
Elon Musk says it’s a crime to even report on the operations of his DOGE faux government agency
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ72gnpPSnU
Elon Musk is barreling into government with DOGE, raising unusual legal questions. Elon Musk is exercising a level of control so sweeping it is stunning former top White House officials, even in a political moment when many things are described as unprecedented.
https://www.opb.org/article/2025/02/03/elon-musks-doge-team-sets-off-tensions-in-the-federal-government/
Palantir CEO Alex Karp says DOGE is a ‘revolution’ and ‘some people are going to get their heads cut off’
https://www.aol.com/palantir-ceo-alex-karp-says-025521833.html
U.S. Attorney Vows to Target Anyone Who Tries to Stop Elon Musk’s DOGE
https://newrepublic.com/post/191087/us-attorney-threaten-target-opponents-elon-musk-doge
Unions Sue To Stop Elon Musk’s DOGE From Accessing Treasury Department Data. The complaint accuses the Trump administration of illegally granting Musk team’s access in violation of federal laws.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/03/unions-sue-block-musk-treasury-payment-00202243
Elon Musk and DOGE are hacking the government, has moved with lightning speed to try to remake the federal government. Many Democrats and even some Republicans say his efforts are unlawful.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/elon-musk-doge-usaid-treasury-government-rcna190450
Musk’s power grab: How DOGE’s access to treasury payment systems threatens social security and government transparency. Elon Musk’s unelected control over federal funds raises alarms about potential corruption, benefit cuts, and partisan manipulation of government resources.
https://www.nationofchange.org/2025/02/03/musks-power-grab-how-doges-access-to-treasury-payment-systems-threatens-social-security-and-government-transparency/
# Economy / Finance / Trade / Banks
Trump May Tank U.S. Economy Faster Than Any Other President
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-may-tank-us-economy-faster-than-any-other-president/
Trump to cut off funding for South Africa, claiming ‘certain classes of people’ are being treated ‘very badly’
https://apnews.com/article/trump-south-africa-cut-funding-aid-musk-92529403c0902bacd9d5cc5985d429cb
US Treasury chief takes over consumer watchdog, freezes all activity
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/us-treasury-chief-takes-over-223031313.html
China announced retaliatory tariffs on select American imports and an antitrust investigation into Google on Tuesday, just minutes after a sweeping levy on Chinese products imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump took effect.
https://apnews.com/article/china-tariffs-us-trump-150fab3a44ec055845e47c82bde544c2
US coal and gas among targets of China’s retaliatory tariffs. The counter-measures include a 15% tax on coal and liquefied natural gas imports from the US, while crude oil, agricultural machinery, pickup trucks and large-engine cars will face a 10% tariff.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1jgk4760y9o
Trump’s Victory Lap on Mexico Tariffs Is a Giant Farce. Donald Trump is trying to claim he achieved a major victory with his threats to impose tariffs on Mexico. There’s just one glaring problem.
https://newrepublic.com/post/191067/trump-victory-lap-mexico-tariffs-farce
Trump’s Tariffs War Is About to Hit Republicans Where It Hurts Most. Canada has a plan to target red states in response to Trump’s tariffs.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/canada-responds-trump-tariffs-war-152015064.html
# Education / Schools
Kentucky lawmaker reintroduces resolution to disband U.S. Department of Education
https://www.wowktv.com/news/kentucky/massie-reintroduces-resolution-to-disband-us-department-of-education/
# Employment / Labor / Unions
Trump Plans To Throw Out Federal Workers’ Union Contracts
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-federal-union-contracts_n_679e13d3e4b045766f103e19
# Energy / Pipelines / Mining / Oil
The Department of Energy’s ties to the plastics industry raise conflict concerns
https://www.ehn.org/the-department-of-energys-ties-to-the-plastics-industry-raise-conflict-concerns-2671081639.html
Texas city approves new fracking site near daycare and schools. A city council in Arlington, Texas, has approved plans for TotalEnergies to drill 10 new gas wells
https://www.dailyclimate.org/texas-city-approves-new-fracking-site-near-daycare-and-schools-2671089322.html
# Environment / Climate / Infrastructure / EPA / BLM
Trump’s climate spending freeze is already causing serious economic harm. Federal courts have ordered funding to resume. But businesses and community groups struggling to stay afloat because of the pause don’t know when they’ll see it.
https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/policy-regulation/trumps-climate-spending-freeze-is-already-causing-serious-economic-harm
‘It’s Surreal’: Trump’s Freeze on Climate Money Sows Fear and Confusion. Some environmental nonprofits and researchers still don’t have access to their federal grants after the Trump administration ordered them halted on Jan. 27.
https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/its-surreal-trumps-freeze-on-climate-money-sows-fear-and-confusion
# General News
Musk has been ‘terrorizing’ federal workforce: Rep. Adam Smith
https://www.yahoo.com/news/musk-terrorizing-federal-workforce-rep-021016324.html
‘Ridiculous!’ Senator Fumes After Visiting USAID’s Offices and Learning Employees Are ‘Illegally’ Being Refused Entry
https://tennesseelookout.com/2025/02/03/dc/members-of-congress-refused-entry-to-usaid-agency-shuttered-by-trump-administration/
Musk seems to believe he can ignore the legal authority of Congress to control federal spending, and instead control all decisions on how to spend taxpayer money. If successful, this effort would functionally make Musk a dictator using the elected official, Trump, as his figurehead.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/hitler-actually-had-good-ideas-110006816.html
Trump orders creation of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund
https://apnews.com/article/trump-tiktok-wealth-fund-saudi-arabia-b71c92cb0deb1eb39352cd1cd4db4b98
What is a sovereign wealth fund, and which countries have them? Sovereign wealth funds represent a large and growing portion of the global economy.
https://www.newsnationnow.com/business/your-money/sovereign-wealth-fund-tiktok/
Elon Musk May Now Have Unique Sway Over the US Treasury. What could possibly go wrong with giving the tech mogul access to federal payments?
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/02/elon-musk-treasury-department-doge-trump/
A new Social Security law will boost benefits for 3.2 million retirees but comes with an unwelcome surprise
https://www.fool.com/retirement/2025/02/03/a-new-social-security-law-that-will-boost-benefits/#:~:text=The%20unwelcome%20surprise&text=SSA%20must%20now%20recalculate%20the,the%20process%20and%20assist%20retirees
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Ordered To Stop Work After Trump Says Treasury’s Bessent Now In Charge
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-treasury-chief-takes-over-consumer-watchdog-freezes-all-activity-2025-02-03/
Murphy says tax records ‘potentially compromised’ by Musk
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5124069-chris-murphy-musk-doge-treasury/
# Gov / Politics
The Coming War on Dissent. As critics focus on Trump’s attacks on the media, his administration is preparing a larger assault on the First Amendment.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/coming-war-dissent-110000129.html
Chaos, lawsuits are the point: Trump expects Supreme Court to give him a free pass. Trump’s approach to established norms has always been to burn them to the ground and then see whether anyone accuses him of arson. He’s just moving faster about it in his second term.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/02/04/trump-birthright-citizenship-funding-freeze-lawsuit/78186843007/
Big question looming over Trump’s power grabs. No one knows if the Supreme Court will enforce the law against Trump.
https://www.vox.com/scotus/397104/supreme-court-donald-trump-lawlessness
Dems threaten government shutdown to stop Trump and Musk
https://www.axios.com/2025/02/04/senate-trump-musk-government-shutdown
Elon Musk tightens grip on federal government as Democrats raise alarms. The speed and scope of his work has been nothing short of stunning. In a little more than two weeks since Trump took office, the world’s richest man has created an alternative power structure inside the federal government for the purpose of cutting spending and pushing out employees.
https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-donald-trump-doge-21153a742fbad86284369bb173ec343c
Elon Musk is officially an employee of the US government — but he’s not getting a paycheck
https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-special-government-employee-doge-2025-2
What Musk’s ‘special government’ role means
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPwLbFyjLWY
Jake Tapper Slams Trump Over Elon Musk’s Growing Role in Government: ‘Why Is He Being Given This Access?’
https://www.yahoo.com/news/jake-tapper-slams-trump-over-022339669.html
JD Vance Tells Fox News Trump Will Make the Call On Taking Greenland No Matter ‘What the Europeans Scream At Us’
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/jd-vance-tells-fox-news-trump-will-make-the-call-on-taking-greenland-no-matter-what-the-europeans-scream-at-us/
Lawmaker introduces bill to demolish workplace safety agency, slams ‘bloated federal government’
https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/lawmaker-introduces-bill-to-demolish-workplace-safety-agency-slams-bloated-federal-government/
Purging the government could backfire spectacularly. Donald Trump might miss the bureaucrats when the next crisis hits.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/02/trump-federal-bureaucracy-dismantling/681552/
Republicans OK With Trump Acting Like A King — As Long As He Does What They Like: “If you’re upset by that, call someone who cares,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said of efforts to shutter the agency in charge of humanitarian assistance abroad.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-usaid-spending-republicans-capitol-hill_n_67a167dee4b0344ef9aa5d60
Trump hits out at Elon Musk with furious statement as cracks in ‘First Friendship’ begin to show. Donald Trump has spoken about Elon Musk’s controversial announcement that he plans to gut several government departments in his new role co-heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)
https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/trump-hits-out-elon-musk-34608363
Trump plans to withdraw the U.S. from the United Nations Human Rights Council. The US president is expected to sign the orders cutting ties and funds to the UN agencies as Netanyahu visits the White House.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/4/trump-to-withdraw-us-from-un-human-rights-council-extend-unrwa-funding-ban
Trump pushes envelope on executive power with national emergency orders
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/20/trump-executive-orders
Feb 2nd, 2025: Trump warns ‘we’re gonna take’ Panama Canal back or ‘something very powerful is going to happen’
https://www.mediaite.com/trump/trump-warns-were-gonna-take-panama-canal-back-or-something-very-powerful-is-going-to-happen/
Lawmakers Back Trump’s Push To Regain Control of the Panama Canal
https://www.aol.com/news/lawmakers-back-trumps-push-regain-210005181.html
Trump’s disregard for US constitution ‘a blitzkrieg on the law’, legal experts say. Scholars warn of president’s lawlessness in actions such as federal funding freeze and birthright citizenship order
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/01/trump-executive-orders-constitution-law
Trump says he will continue funding Ukraine’s war effort — but he wants something rare in return
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-says-continue-funding-ukraines-154802021.html
# Law Enforcement / ATF / FBI / CIA
Association representing thousands of FBI agents appeals to Congress to protect their jobs
https://apnews.com/article/fbi-justice-department-trump-762d22f21f4e27b99c94bd78160fb0cb
Case of woman whose death by 20 stab wounds was ruled suicide to be reopened after pathologist changes testimony
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/ellen-greenberg-death-investigation-reopened-b2691486.html
How Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Could Fuel a Prison Labor Boom
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-immigration-crackdown-could-fuel-110000281.html
# Legal / DOJ / ICJ / International Criminal Court [ICC]
DOJ’s deletion of Jan. 6 records triggers legal challenge
https://www.citizensforethics.org/legal-action/letters/deletion-of-jan-6-charges-database-appears-to-violate-the-law/
# Medicare / Medicaid
Trump’s war on Medicaid will institutionalize millions of people
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/01/trump-medicaid-institutionalization-hcbs-cuts-gop/
# Medical / General News
CDC ordered to remove research papers that use the terms “LGBT,” “pregnant people” and more. “How can the government decide what words a journal can use to describe a scientific reality? That reality needs to be named,” one journal editor said.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-cdc
Urgent warning issued to 1m Americans after medical records are stolen by ‘skilled criminal hacker’
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14355011/Urgent-warning-issued-Americans-medical-records-stolen-community-health-center.html
He ruled the operating room and then daytime TV. Now, Dr. Oz is set to take over a $1.5 trillion health agency
https://www.statnews.com/2025/02/04/dr-oz-trump-nominee-journey-from-medicine-to-daytime-tv-to-cms-administrator/
Louisiana Issues Arrest Warrant for New York Doctor Over Abortion Pill. The state’s action “should alarm everyone,” said advocacy group Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine.
https://truthout.org/articles/louisiana-issues-arrest-warrant-for-ny-doctor-over-abortion-pill/
# Military / General News
VA will end remote work status for thousands of staffers this month
https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/2025/02/03/va-will-end-remote-work-status-for-thousands-of-staffers-this-month/
US Declassifies Photo of Warship Firing HELIOS Laser Weapon
https://www.the-sun.com/news/13445559/navy-helios-laser-drone-warship/
# Technology / Artificial Intelligence
AI designed computer chips so complex that humans can’t understand them
https://bgr.com/science/ai-designed-computer-chips-so-complex-that-humans-cant-understand-them/
US firm unveils plan for 100,000-strong humanoid robot army to counter China
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-firm-unveils-plan-100-132430620.html
OpenAI Strikes Deal With US Government to Use Its AI for Nuclear Weapon Security: Either the execs at OpenAI have never seen ‘The Terminator’ or they’re actively working to bring the movie to life.
https://futurism.com/openai-signs-deal-us-government-nuclear-weapon-security
New Law Would Make It Illegal to Use DeepSeek, Punishable With 20 Years’ Prison Time. US senator wants to slap prison term, $1M fine on anyone aiding Chinese AI with … downloads?
https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/03/us_senator_download_chinese_ai_model/
# Weather
Rare polar vortex split to freeze millions of Americans, chilling path of severe weather event mapped. Forecasters warn that a split polar vortex is set to bring a ‘large supply of cold air’ to North America in mid-February as a freezing core moves over the US and Canada, bringing icy weather
https://www.themirror.com/news/us-news/rare-polar-vortex-split-freeze-952224
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